I've lived in three of those states and I don't believe it is acceptable any longer - at least for men. There was this one recent instance where a preacher's wife shotgunned her husband and got off cause he was allegedly abusive in the past (although not atthe time she offed him - she ambushed him)

I think it works better as a defense for women than men. Obviously this case is an example of that.

Yeah, the prosecution is really risking an overturn of the conviction on the appeal. I mean, the appellant court will be ask, "who started it". The prosecution should have just gone with mutilation of the corpse. Because the stabbing was self-defense; but the beheading wasn't necessary. Just saying...

According to Wiki, he was married twice before with divorce grounds of domestic violence and abuse.

Prior to his marriage to Aasiya Zubair, Hassan was married twice before: first, to a Caucasian American woman, Janice, with whom he had two children, Michael and Sonia; second, for 13 months to a Pakistani-American Muslim woman, Sadia. According to Sadia's cousin, Zerqa Abid, both of his earlier wives filed for divorce on the same grounds of severe domestic violence and abuses.

A sociopath-type (words of the DA Frank Sedita) and pathological liar, Mo Hassan sawed his wife's head off with a brand new hunting knife. This, after 45 or so stab wounds to the body later. The beheading was as he had planned.

This murder and trial can be summed up this way; Brutal Murder and the Theater of the Absurd.

This man 'fired' 4 attorneys and ended up 'representing' himself with the aid of the last attorney that agreed to assist.

There were many surreal moments, namely when he would ask himself questions, under the careful watch of the judge.

And the poor, confused bastard couldn't be put away for life withOUT the possibility of parole, because that's reserved for SERIOUS haters, like cop-killers. (Que?!?!?) Wife killerbeheaders...not so much. Everyone hates their wife ~ or is at least seriously sick of her shiite ~ once in a while, right? 2d degree it is!

I noticed some more of that Muslim blinder thing on TV the other night, when Michelle and Hillary were handing out wimmins' medals at the White House: Odd how World News Tonight fails to mention Islam/Sharia as reason behind women's subjugation when they laud their bravery breaking "free".

@mikeRI think they are serious comments about Islam today. But I think I would argue it is unfair to conflate one Muslim man's murder of his wife with a billion folks who follow Islam. There are plenty of Christians, Atheists, Pagans, Bears fans and Packers fans that beat their wives. To focus on the fact that he is Muslim -- and to draw a direct line between his faith and this murder, and to juxtapose this, to say...Christians in Iowa, is to mix up the likely deeper issues in this man. More to my point, it conflates this type of murder as something purely Islamic, which, it is not. But to assign it this trait does not help us understand each others faith and beliefs. I think that is what upset me. I was being too callous at first, my apologies.

Can you provide a link to murder statistics involving domestic dispute beheadings within the United States by religous or ethnic demographic to support your thesis, please? I obviously need more education.

There are plenty of Christians, Atheists, Pagans, Bears fans and Packers fans that beat their wives. To focus on the fact that he is Muslim -- and to draw a direct line between his faith and this murder,...

To deny a strong possibility of the line between his Muslim faith and the murder is aggressive ignorance. Packer fans don't beat their wives, only Bears fans do that.

I don't know about others, but I wasn't drawing a line from his Muslim faith to the murder. My line was from his Muslim faith to the beheading. Yeah, domestic violence leading to murder happens across religions and secular society. But beheadings? That's pretty exclusive to Filipino tribesmen, Mexican drug lords, and Muslims. And this guy admitted to being a member of the latter group. I'm just saying.

"I think I would argue it is unfair to conflate one Muslim man's murder of his wife with a billion folks who follow Islam." Well, I agree that it might be unfair. But say that honest statistics show that there are far more honor killings and wife murders among Muslims than among Christians or Jews? (I haven't looked up any statistics.) Could one wonder whether there is a cultural attitude in parts of Muslim society that allows these things in a way that American society just doesn't? I would say that that should be acceptable discussion, just as we should be able to wonder about whether black culture in America is right now having a terrible problem with absentee fathers, without being in any way racist against blacks.

On the criticisms of my use of 'racism' -- you're right. It was callous and reactionary. Apologies. While I cannot, off the top of my head (...), think of any domestic dispute be-headings (would you consider a brother cutting off the head of his sister a domestic dispute? Google Kerby Revelus) -- I think my point is that to compare this Muslim man's actions to the whole of Islam, or to compare it to the actions of other domestic abusers in other religions, obfuscates the actual issues that belief differences raise.

I think my point is that to compare this Muslim man's actions to the whole of Islam, or to compare it to the actions of other domestic abusers in other religions, obfuscates the actual issues that belief differences raise.

I think my point is that to compare this Muslim man's actions to the whole of Islam, or to compare it to the actions of other domestic abusers in other religions, obfuscates the actual issues that belief differences raise.

Care to rewrite this? Or are you suggesting it was a bad idea to obfuscate what this man did by comparing it to abuse from other religions, because his beliefs are different from those other religions?

@shoutingthomas Ah, you're right. My bad. Since this guy speaks for Muslims we should probably take his obviously sane ideas seriously and conflate them with anyone who follow Islam.

I think it's better for you to lurk. First of all, 10% of islam which is roughly 110 million people are radical, beheading nut jobs that we are fighting around the world. The other 90% do nothing about it. The entire religion is fairly complicit in it's goals and aims about what they really stand for, which is to say, death. Islam is a death cult always has been, always will be. If you don't understand that, then you have been blind for a long long time.

I would like to try and respond to all of you, because you raise some good points (even if I think some of you are taking correct assertions about conservative interpretations of Islam and their relation to how followers of Islam behave as a whole). But I have to get back to work. Will try and be back later.

While an argument can be made that the "mode of killing" doesn't make a difference - a bullet is as deadly as a beheading - I don't think it is a valid argument.

Not only should it be considered a murder, but it should also be considered torture, and cruel and unusual violence.

If the "mode of killing" didn't matter, then we would still have firing squads, public hangings, guillotines and such.

I've seen some serious misogyny in different parts of the world - but the utter senselessness of this just boggled the mind.

And yes - Islam has institutionalized misogyny. Lets not beat around the bush. As much as I respect the right of islamic countries to run their countries the way they want to, lets not pretend that women there have the same opportunities as women in the west.

There is plenty of misogyny in India as well (and India is not a muslim country). It is changing..and changing rapidly, but in many of the villages and small towns, the role of women is essentially to cook, clean, and bear children - and they cannot break out of that even if they want to.

"The connection from this particular killing to Islam is pretty compelling in my opinion."

What makes this even more bizarre is the fact that this Mo Hassan ran a 'muslim outreach' community-access TV station. The purpose was to provide the community a positive message of muslim life. I know, it existed where I live, so when this happened with the murder and all it raised a lot of eyebrows.

So Oglebay, you go ahead and sell your message of 'fairness' if you wish, there are certain 'attributes' to all of this that are undeniable. Beheading is a dictate in terms of those that bring shame or opposition, in the view of the radical islamist. Maybe its only 10% of the total but I will tell you the other 90% are scared shitless of those 10%, the 90% think the other 10% are batshit crazy and they are right.

Marshal sez: As we discussed just the other day this happens routinely in the country of Africa.

Not that I'm arguing the fact that this happens in parts of Africa, but, please realize . . . there is no "country of Africa." Africa is a huge continent made up of many diverse countries. I've been blessed to visit several of them and there are significant differences between them, especially between those closest to the equator and those on the northern coast. I have not been to the country of South Africa, so cannot compare it, but I'm sure it is quite unique, too.

shoutingthoams sez: Christians are beheading their wives every day in Iowa.

Really? Every day? Is that why it was such a big story when the so-called "Christian" was recently convicted for it???

The difference between some wing-nut claiming to be a Christian doing horrible things to women and someone who follows the "Religion of Peace" doing horrible things to women is that the self-proclaimed "Christian" who does it is acting counter to the tenets of his professed religion, whereas the Muslim is acting directly in line with the tenets of his.

Under Islam, women are little more than chattel. Christianity, by contrast, was the first widely-held worldview to recognize the value and worth of women. The gospels portray Jesus as speaking to women to whom he was not related, which was completely verboten in his day. He also had several women in his inner circle. Such a thing is anathema to the teachings of Islam.

You seem outnumbered here. Well, let me tell you I'm on your side! Just because 99% of all terrorist attacks are committed by Muslims (the most recent exception being the Arizona murders perpetrated by a schizophrenic leftist) and just because 99% of all honor killings are committed by Muslims, you must not back off your assertions!

I'm sure there is some statistical test, somewhere, which will conclusively demonstrate that your opponents don't have a leg to stand on! So hire a statistical consultant and come back with a far more powerful argument.

Not that I'm arguing the fact that this happens in parts of Africa, but, please realize . . . there is no "country of Africa."

Lawgirl, I suspect this was a joke. One of the liberal commenters (I believe it was Dose of Sanity) referred everyone the other day to the "country of Africa" as a Christian country that does bad things.

Lawgirl, I suspect this was a joke. One of the liberal commenters (I believe it was Dose of Sanity) referred everyone the other day to the "country of Africa" as a Christian country that does bad things.

Whew. It makes sense as a joke. As a straight-forward statement . . . notsomuch. Thanks!

Funny how the Tea Party can be summed up in one word but everyone else is diverse. The miracle of narrative!

Oh, the Tea Party is diverse, too. Just because the NAACP has tried to make it something else doesn't change its essential character as a quite diverse movement (there isn't really even an organization, to my knowledge, just a movement).

I don't get the beheading. It seems superfluous to behead someone after they have been killed and an extremely messy way of killing someone who is still alive. Spurting aortic blood goes all over the place. Remember, she won't be around to clean up the mess. Is there something in the Koran that explicitly recommends beheading? I think Oglebay is probably correct. Westernized, liberal Muslims just shoot their wives?